Baku Olympic Stadium
Bakı Olimpiya Stadionu
UEFA Category 4 Stadium
LocationBaku, Azerbaijan
Public transitBaku Metro Koroğlu
OwnerAssociation of Football Federations of Azerbaijan
Capacity68,700[1]
Record attendance67,200 (Qarabağ-Roma 1-2, 27 September 2017)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground6 June 2011
Opened6 March 2015
ArchitectTOCA (Concept Design), Heerim, ROSSETTI (Sports Architect)
Structural engineerThornton Tomasetti
General contractorTekfen Construction, Turkey
Tenants
Azerbaijan national football team
Qarabağ FK (European competitions matches)
Website
Official website

Baku Olympic Stadium (Azerbaijani: Bakı Olimpiya Stadionu) is a stadium, designed and constructed to meet the international standards for stadiums set by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Having seating capacity for 68,700 people, it is the largest stadium in Azerbaijan.

Construction of the 225,000-square-meter stadium on a 650,000-square-meter site was completed in February 2015. The six-storey, 65.7 meter structure near Boyukshor Lake, Baku, Azerbaijan, opened on 6 March 2015.[2] The main tenant of the stadium is Azerbaijan's national football team, who moved from their previous home at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium. In June 2015 the stadium served as the main venue for the European Games, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, and the athletic games. The venue hosted three group games and a quarterfinal at the UEFA Euro 2020. A green area is being developed around the stadium, which is accessible via public transport.

History

The foundation ceremony

The foundation of the Baku Olympic Stadium was laid on 6 June 2011 in a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of Azerbaijani football.

The ceremony was attended by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva, FIFA president Sepp Blatter, UEFA president Michel Platini, prominent members of the global football community, heads of various federations, football veterans and other guests. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was informed about the future plans for the construction of the stadium. Speaking at the ceremony, Blatter said:

"This is really beautiful, grand building, and more than 60 thousand football fans coming to the stadium will be able to enjoy football."

Aliyev then placed a symbolic metal capsule inside a football. His son Heydar, scoring a goal in a symbolic gate, dropped the ball into the foundation. Presidents Aliyev with Blatter and Platini, operated a switch starting the concrete pour, and signed a football, which was preserved in memory of the ceremony.

Construction

Despite the groundbreaking ceremony taking place in 2011, the construction of the stadium started only in November 2012 with the excavation and backfilling of the stadium area.

The stadium was completed on February 28, 2015, and the opening took place on 6 March 2015. President Aliyev participated in the opening ceremony.

The total layout of the stadium is 617,000m² and has a capacity for 68,700 people.[1] It is six stories tall.

Baku was ready to host the first European Games in 2015. The Olympic Stadium Project was seen as the most important and prestigious project undertaken by Azerbaijan for the games. Main stadium layout area is 87,000m², total confined space 215,000 m2, Maximum Height from ground 60m².

Construction of the stadium in Baku

The project was funded by the SOCAR. A Turkish company Tekfen Construction and Installation Co.,Inc, were given a design & build contract.[3][4]

Along with the stadium, there were built a number of hotels, a parking venue (3,617 car places), and green space (81,574 square meters).[5]

Stadium contains VVIP, VIP - CIP Suites total 127 each with 720 spectators capacity, total interior special area of 25,200m² and total car parking capacity for 3,078 cars. 1,800 seating capacity warm up area, MEP Building, information centre and two external buildings are other building of the Project.

Events

The stadium hosted athletics and ceremonies during 2015 European Games.

The Stadium hosted all of Qarabag's Champions League group stage matches in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League.

The stadium hosted the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final on 29 May 2019.[6]

UEFA Euro 2020

The stadium hosted three group stage matches and one quarter-finals match at the UEFA Euro 2020, which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.

Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Round Attendance
12 June 2021 Wales1–1  SwitzerlandGroup A8,782[7]
16 June 2021 Turkey0–2 Wales19,762[8]
20 June 2021  Switzerland3–1 Turkey17,138[9]
3 July 2021 Czech Republic1–2 DenmarkQuarter-finals16,306[10]

Notable matches

Qarabağ playing against Roma at Baku Olympic Stadium during the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League.
Date Result Competition Attendance
8 October 2016 Azerbaijan1–0 Norway2018 FIFA World Cup qualification35,000
27 March 2017 Azerbaijan1–4 Germany30,000
27 September 2017Azerbaijan Qarabağ1–2Italy RomaUEFA Champions League group stage67,200
22 November 20170–4England Chelsea67,100
10 October 2015 Azerbaijan1–3 ItalyUEFA Euro 2016 qualifying48,000
18 October 2017Azerbaijan Qarabağ0–0Spain Atlético MadridUEFA Champions League group stage47,923
4 October 2018Azerbaijan Qarabağ0–3England ArsenalUEFA Europa League group stage63,412
29 May 2019England Chelsea4–1England ArsenalUEFA Europa League Final51,370
Inside Baku Olympic Stadium, 10 October 2015.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "First Division Clubs in Europe 2022/23" (PDF). UEFA. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "БАКИНСКИЙ ОЛИМПИЙСКИЙ СТАДИОН СДАН В ЭКСПЛУАТАЦИЮ". rekord.az (in Russian). Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Bakıda böyük stadion tikintisi planlaşdırılır Archived 2012-03-21 at the Wayback Machine (in Azerbaijani)
  4. ↑ Ölkədə ən böyük stadionun tikintisinə başlanacaq (in Azerbaijani)
  5. ↑ "Bakıdakı yeni stadionda 41 lift və 3617 avtomobil 7 dayanacaq olacaq". Ayna.az. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  6. ↑ "2019 final: Baku Olympic Stadium". Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  7. ↑ "Full Time Summary – Wales v Switzer" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  8. ↑ "Full Time Summary – Turkey v Wales" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  9. ↑ "Full Time Summary – Switzerland v Turkey" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 20 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "Full Time Summary – Czech Republic v Denmark" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
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